Halloween is my favorite time of year. Truthfully, I celebrate it year round. I am known for watching Halloweentown in February, rocking Beetlejuice apparel to Christmas dinner, and quoting Hocus Pocus with every other breath. My secret dream is to own a spooky
themed cafe in Salem, MA and own three golden retrievers: Winifred, Mary, and Sarah.

Spooky yogis in spooky tree

I even themed out the weekly yoga class that I teach, and had everyone dress up for a class fueled by remixes of Halloween classics. Seriously, this is my time.

I suppose it goes without saying that once October rolls around, there is no stopping my crafting nature. This one is my current favorite. It’s possibly the most simple idea ever, and one that I’ll admit I can’t take full credit for. Many seasoned crafters are sure to say, “Been there, done that,” but never mind them. This craft is a ghoulish take on papier-mâché that leaves you with some spooky freestanding ghosts. Let’s get into this.

Here’s what you’ll need (per ghost):

1 yard of cheesecloth

1 balloon

Empty soda bottle

Tape

1/2 cup of Elmer’s Glue

1/2 cup of water

Black construction paper

Hot glue gun

Hairdryer (depending on your timeline)

Step 1: Inflate your balloon to a medium size and place it on top of the empty soda bottle. Use some tape to hold that sucker in place.

Step 2: Mix together the glue and water. Stir that up until it looks like milk and then set it aside for a second. Don’t drink it–seriously, it’s not milk.

Step 3: Take your yard of cheesecloth and dip it into the glue-water mixture. Make sure it’s well soaked and then open it up and drape it over the top of the balloon. Spread out the cheesecloth so that it drapes and goes all the way to the base of the bottle. You can fan out the bottoms for extra support if you’d like.

Step 4 (optional): If you’re in a time crunch for decorations, or perhaps if you’re simply impatient like me, you can use a hairdryer to speed up the drying process. If you’re in no rush, leave the ghosts to dry overnight.

Step 5: Once the ghosts are entirely dry, use a sharp object to pop the balloon. The glue may have stuck slightly to the balloon, which can cause the head of your ghost to cave in. Fear not, mortals! This is normal, and if you just push the head back out and into the desired shape, it will stay in place for good.

Step 6: Take your black construction paper and cut out two eyes and a mouth. Make this ghost as cheerful, tortured, or terrifying as you desire. We want these guys to have some personality, after all! Use some hot glue to attach the eyes and mouth to the ghost. Voila! You’ve got a wonderfully easy decoration ready to go. If you want to see an example of how this comes together, you can check out my recent segment on CT Style, where I crafted some ghosts in full-on Peter Pan garb. I told you: I live for Halloween. Happy haunting!